Calculations from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) suggest that the sector’s overall value growth will be 12 percent, but performance could be improved through integration.
According to the United Nations Organization, the so-called modern services open up opportunities to boost trade in this region of the planet, taking into account global trends. Digitally delivered services such as IT, legal, financial, education and business services have represented the most dynamic category of international trade over the last decade.
However, Latin America and the Caribbean “remains a marginal player in global trade in modern services,” says ECLAC, which continued its analysis of the issue at a forum that ends today in Mexico.
According to the World Trade Organization, the value of international goods transactions increased on average by just 2.4 percentage points between 2010 and 2019, while modern services recorded annual growth of 6.2 percent.
Nor can it be ignored that the only category of global trade that did not decline in value in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic was the digital services category.
Despite the global boom, the Latin American and Caribbean region still has a marginal participation in this type of trade, according to ECLAC, which contrasts with the strong specialization of countries in the region in tourism or transport.
The XII. Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Network for Researchers and Policymakers (Redlas), which began yesterday in the Mexican capital, reinforced the debate on the issue.
As noted at the meeting, there is great potential for the development of modern services related to the strategic industries in which the region’s nations have extensive experience and knowledge, such as agriculture, livestock, tourism, mining, renewable energy and resource management . natural resources, including water and forests.
However, in order to reap the benefits of integrating digital services, it is necessary to eliminate regulatory hurdles and data security as well as access gaps and technological skills in the region, they discussed at the event.
mem/mjm